Nine Lives of Unjust Suffering Chapter 11

Chapter 11: A Violent Riot in the Hall of Abundant Harvest; Au Cheuk-hing Fattens His Pockets Twice Over

Seeing the situation turn dire, Kwai-hing sent Hei-loi to fetch the “strategist” Cheuk-hing while he consulted Zong-kong. Before Cheuk-hing arrived, Zong-kong tried to bolster Kwai-hing’s courage: “She took poison herself! We didn’t force it down her throat. What is there to fear?”

He had barely finished speaking when He Da-an and He Da-xian burst into the hall. Without a word of greeting, Da-an lunged forward, grabbed Kwai-hing by the chest, and roared, “What illness killed my daughter?”

Kwai-hing turned pale as ash. “I… I don’t know what illness it was!” Da-an shoved him back so hard that Kwai-hing stumbled and fell into a ceremonial chair with a heavy thud. Before he could recover, Da-xian delivered two sharp slaps across his face, leaving Kwai-hing’s ears ringing and eyes seeing stars.

Zong-kong leaped up, pointing a finger at Da-xian. “Friend! We can talk this through! Why start hitting people?”

“You murdered my niece in cold blood! Do you think we’ll just let it go?” Da-xian barked.

“Which eye saw us murder her?” Zong-kong countered. “It was that little wench herself—”

Before he could finish the insult, Da-xian swung a fist at his face. The two men grappled and tore at each other. Zong-kong found an opening and shoved Da-xian back against the central altar table (tianranji). A three-foot-tall antique porcelain vase fell and shattered with a thunderous crash. Enraged, Da-xian grabbed a heavy Yingde ornamental stone from the table and hurled it at Zong-kong’s head. Zong-kong ducked; the stone flew past and smashed through a glass window.

Zong-kong retaliated by throwing a ceramic spittoon. This shattered the last of the restraint. Da-xian stopped fighting Zong-kong and began systematically destroying the room. He grabbed a large Western striking clock and smashed it into the courtyard; he crushed a rare Chai-ware floral plate into sixteen pieces. Antiques, paintings, and calligraphy were trampled into the dust.

The twenty kinsmen from the He clan heard the commotion and rushed out from the inner rooms to join the fray. The Ling family thugs were ready to jump in, but the ruffian Mei-xian held them back. “A true man fights one-on-one. Let them settle it, or there’s no glory in winning.”

But when the rest of the He kinsmen joined, the four-pillared hall became a literal war zone. Da-an kept his grip on Kwai-hing, sitting side-by-side with him to ensure he didn’t escape.

In the heat of the fight, Mei-xian handed Zong-kong a ceramic jar. Zong-kong took it, recognized the contents, and grinned. He took careful aim and smashed the jar over Da-xian’s head.

Crack! The jar shattered, and Da-xian was instantly drenched from head to toe in liquid manure. He let out a cry of shock, but as he opened his mouth to shout, some of the filth splashed inside.

Nauseated and furious, Da-xian lunged at Kwai-hing, using Kwai-hing’s expensive silk robes as a rag to wipe the filth off himself. Kwai-hing, driven by desperate survival instinct, kicked Da-xian away and pulled Da-an toward him. The three men fell into a heap on the floor, rolling in the mess until the entire hall was filled with a “strange fragrance.”

“Master! Take off your clothes!” Zong-kong shouted. The three men scrambled to strip off their soiled outer garments. Kwai-hing tried to flee to the inner chambers, but the maids and servants, terrified by the He kinsmen, had locked the waist-high gates from the inside.

Suddenly, a sound like the sky collapsing echoed through the house. The grand honorary plaque inscribed with the words “Hall of Abundant Harvest” (Yù-gēng Táng) had been pried off the wall with bamboo poles and sent crashing to the floor.

Just as the chaos reached its peak, a loud voice commanded: “Everyone stop! I have arrived!” Kwai-hing looked up and saw Au Cheuk-hing.

Upon entering the main gate, Au Cheuk-hing immediately rushed forward to pull the combatants apart. He broke up one pair, then another, but as soon as he settled one group, a new fight erupted. Finally, after much effort, he managed to separate the mobs.

He raised his voice: “Everyone, stop! This is not a matter for fists. Nephew Kwai-hing, take your seat in the center. To the gentlemen of the He family—please sit on the eastern side. To the members of the Ling clan—please sit on the western side. Let us speak like reasonable men.” He turned to He Da-xian: “Please, calm your kinsmen for a moment so we can talk.” Then, to Kwai-hing: “Nephew! Keep your people in line; no more fighting!”

Cheuk-hing then pulled the father-in-law, He Da-an, into the study. Seeing the old man drenched in filth, he ordered Hei-loi to fetch water for him to wash and had the inner gates opened to retrieve a set of Kwai-hing’s clothes for the old man to change into.

“Your daughter is dead,” Cheuk-hing began smoothly while Da-an washed his face. “Fighting won’t settle this. Even if you fight until tomorrow, she won’t come back to life. You are all relatives; why destroy the bond between father-in-law and son-in-law? In my humble opinion, your son-in-law should simply make a formal apology, and we can end this.”

Da-an let out a cold laugh. “I understand your words, sir. But do you know how my daughter died?”

“I don’t know the specifics,” Cheuk-hing lied. “The messenger only said she died from opium.”

“Exactly!” Da-an cried. “I married my healthy daughter to him. Why would she suddenly take her own life? Ling Kwai-hing shouldn’t think that just because he has money and power, he can drive a wife to her death and then use silver to plug my mouth! I’ve seen money before, and it won’t move me!”

“Then what is it you want?” Cheuk-hing asked.

“This was a death by unnatural causes,” Da-an declared. “We must report this to the officials for an inquest and await the court’s judgment.”

“Fine!” Cheuk-hing replied. “That is an excellent idea. In fact, the Ling family can report it themselves. But let me ask you: once the official arrives and performs the autopsy, what do you think the verdict will be? You may not have memorized the Imperial Code, but you are a man of reason. If she took the poison herself, is there any law that says the husband must pay with his life? If he cannot be executed for it, why put her through the indignity of an autopsy?”

Cheuk-hing leaned in closer. “She was a daughter already married out. She lived in this house and gave him a five-year-old son. Furthermore, the judge will not order a son-in-law to pay ‘consolation silver’ to a father-in-law. Even if the Magistrate ignores the law and orders a payment, think of what people will say! They will say He Da-an used his daughter’s corpse to extort money. They will call you a man who sells his own daughter’s body. Are you willing to carry such a reputation?”

“She was driven to it by his constant abuse!” Da-an insisted.

“Where is the evidence of abuse?” Cheuk-hing countered. “During the inquest, your daughter’s remains will be exposed to the elements and propped up for the coroner’s assistant to examine. I doubt they will find a single mark on her. Besides, Kwai-hing has no concubines. If there were a mistress in the house, you might claim ‘abuse’ out of jealousy, but you have no proof! You have no evidence of abuse, but we have evidence of a riot.

“Look at this hall! It’s practically destroyed. Antiques, paintings, and calligraphy lie in ruins. If the Magistrate arrives, he will see two cases: one for a suicide, and one for a violent home invasion. Regardless of the death, the law for breaking into a home and destroying property is clear. Kwai-hing will not take this loss quietly. He will name a price for his destroyed treasures—perhaps ten or twenty thousand taels. If you claim they aren’t worth that much, the judge will simply tell you to replace them with identical items. Can you do that?”

Cheuk-hing’s cold, legalistic threats left He Da-an speechless and dazed. Sensing he had gained the upper hand, Cheuk-hing stopped pressing and walked out to “consult” with Kwai-hing. He left the grieving father alone with his thoughts for a long time before returning and sitting down in a heavy, pointed silence.

Finally, Da-an broke. “According to you, then… how should this be handled?”

“This is your affair,” Cheuk-hing replied dismissively. “Why ask me? I see no easy way out. When I spoke to Kwai-hing just now, he had only one thing to say: ‘Even before my own father, I never endured such an insult as this home invasion.’ I truly don’t know how you intend to settle with him.”

He then let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “It was quite senseless to leave the deceased on the bed while you rioted. If Kwai-hing decides to report this to the officials himself, he has little to fear legally. But once the coroner arrives, it’s not just your daughter’s death that will be scrutinized; they’ll surely uncover the fact that his sister also hanged herself just days ago. Two suicides in one household within three days? If the authorities are stirred up, our family’s ‘Face’ will be utterly destroyed!”

“However,” Cheuk-hing continued, shifting his tone, “if you spend a mere two thousand-odd taels now, all troubles vanish. Wouldn’t that be more refreshing?”

Zong-kong chimed in, confused: “Why must we spend over two thousand taels?”

Cheuk-hing turned to Kwai-hing, inventing the terms of the “bribe” on the spot: “Da-an requires one thousand taels in ‘Tear-Drying Silver’ (Zhǐlèi yín). Da-xian demands five hundred. As for the twenty-four kinsmen they brought, they want fifty taels each. That comes to a total of two thousand seven hundred taels.”

He added a final clever detail to make it seem like the He family’s request: “They’ve agreed to the terms, but they ask that when you write the notes tomorrow, you make one for a thousand, one for five hundred, and twenty-four individual notes of fifty taels each, so they can distribute them easily among the men.”

Kwai-hing, desperate to bury the scandal, agreed to every word. With the “debt” settled, they finally bought the coffin, summoned the Buddhist and Taoist monks for the rites, and officially began the funeral proceedings.

Translator’s Note:

The Hall of Abundant Harvest (裕耕堂): This was the name of the Lings’ main hall. In the Qing Dynasty, the name of a hall represented the family’s legacy and values. Tearing down the plaque was the ultimate symbolic destruction of the Ling family’s “Face” and social standing.

Western Striking Clock (自鳴鐘): These were incredibly expensive luxury items imported from Europe. Their presence shows the Lings’ immense wealth, and their destruction shows that the He family didn’t care about money—they wanted to hurt Kwai-hing where it pained him most.

Yingde Stone (英德石): A type of limestone highly prized by scholars for scholars’ rocks (Gongshi). Using a piece of high art as a lethal projectile highlights the descent from “scholarship” to “savagery.”

The Corrupt Inquest (驗屍 – Yànshī): In the Qing Dynasty, an autopsy was considered a final, ultimate humiliation for the deceased. Cheuk-hing uses the cultural fear of “disturbing the body” to manipulate the father’s grief.

The “Married-Out” Daughter: Once a woman married, she was legally considered a member of her husband’s clan, not her father’s. Cheuk-hing uses this to tell Da-an that he has no legal standing to sue for his daughter’s death.

The Counter-Lawsuit: This is the classic move of a “Rival of Zhuge.” By turning a “death” case into a “property damage” case, he makes the victim (the He family) look like the criminal. He threatens them with a debt they can never pay to force them into a settlement.

“Selling the Corpse” (賣女屍): This was a powerful social taboo. Cheuk-hing uses “Face” as a weapon, knowing that Da-an would rather suffer in silence than be accused of profiting from his daughter’s suicide.

Tear-Drying Silver (止淚銀 – Zhǐlèi yín): This is a cynical euphemism used in old Chinese legal disputes. It refers to hush money paid to a victim’s family to “stop their crying” (i.e., stop them from suing).

The “Rival of Zhuge’s” Second Profit: Notice that the text title is “Au Cheuk-hing Fattens His Pockets Twice.” He has likely lied to both sides—telling the He family they are lucky to escape a lawsuit for property damage, while telling Kwai-hing the He family is demanding a massive payout. He will almost certainly pocket a huge portion of that 2,700 taels himself.

Buddhist and Taoist Monks (僧道 – Sēngdào): In the Qing Dynasty, a proper funeral required both sets of clergy to ensure the soul passed safely. By starting the rites, they are officially “closing the case” on Lady He’s death.